Eckart Brandt

Eckart Brandt in October 2012 at the “Taste Days” in Munich .

Eckart Brandt (* 1950 in Zeven ) is a German pomologist and author . He gained national fame mainly because he dedicated himself to the breeding and preservation of historical apple varieties . Over the course of more than 30 years, a collection of more than 800 varieties has been created, which is intended to ensure the genetic diversity of these fruits. Its ecologically managed orchards are located in Lower Saxony's Altes Land .

Life

Origin, education and private life

Eckart Brandt was born in Zeven as the son of a war invalid and a farmer's daughter. He grew up in Wohnste , where his one-armed father tried his hand at various professions (goose breeding, hatching egg production, “mobile” savings bank and finally beekeeping ). In Buxtehude Brandt passed his Abitur. He originally planned to pursue a career in the humanities and studied German , English and history at the University of Hamburg .

In 1978, however, he moved back to the country with his then partner. There he was initially active in beekeeping, but the Varroa mite killed his 60 bee colonies. Later he leased a Kehdinger rest farm in Großenwörden in the Ostemarschen with Hof Königsmoor , to which a half- hectare fruit farm was attached, in which Ingrid-Marie and Boskoop apple trees grew. He also acquired a fruit farm in the eastern part of Altendorf. There he planted other old varieties.

Eckart Brandt has a daughter and a son. He is married to Judith Bernhard (* 1966).

Apple growing

Brandt has been working with old apple varieties since 1983, for which he developed an interest while running a cider factory . He found that the old varieties are less susceptible to pests than expected and that they produce good yields even without insecticides . In 1985 he launched the Boomgarden ( Low German for "tree garden") project, which aims to preserve the genetic diversity of these fruits. In the beginning he asked the natives of the Lower Elbe in newspaper articles to provide him with rare copies from their own gardens. Over the years, in which numerous other orchards were leased, a unique “apple gene bank” was created. The pomologist now cultivates around 800 varieties. His goods - in addition to apples, potatoes as well as historical pear, plum and cherry varieties are grown - he sells at weekly markets in the region and via the Internet. In addition, he also offers fruit trees for sale.

In September 1991 Brandt joined the pomologists' association founded six months earlier , from which he was awarded the Oberdieck Prize ten years later for his services . He is also the only member of the German Society of Pomologists .

Brandt, who himself grows exclusively organically, is also critical of organic fruit growing : “They want the same range as their conventional colleagues. Varieties are grown that are far too sensitive for an organic apple orchard. Eco then means that the trees are sprayed with organic sprays instead of pesticides. ”Because of these differences of opinion, he resigned from the Bioland cultivation association .

On 6 April 2004 Brandt founded with about 20 colleagues in Jork the boom Garden e. V. to preserve his project for posterity. Since the lease agreements for the orchards in Großenwörden - the core of Brandt's collection - expired in 2011, numerous plantings were relocated to Wilkenshoff in the Ochtmannsbruch district of Hollenstedt with sufficient lead time . As early as 2002, Brandt created a tree-trunk avenue and a tree nursery there; Over the years, more pear, plum, cherry and apple trees, woody plants, orchards and a mother garden followed. Meanwhile, the association has over diverse gardens - such as in the East , in the Stade district Götzendorf and in Deinster district Helmste. The latter measures four hectares.

At the Expo 2015 in Milan - which was organized under the motto “ Feed the planet, energy for life” - Brandt appeared as an ambassador of ideas for biodiversity in the German pavilion.

Publications

• Brandt's lust for apples. Old apple varieties rediscovered. For garden and kitchen . Mosaik Verlag, Munich , 2000, ISBN 978-3-576-11441-8 .
• My big apple book . Bassermann Verlag , Munich, 2003, ISBN 978-3-809-41533-6 .
• About apples and people ... Brandt's apple booklet with 36 apple recipes . Verlag Atelier im Bauernhaus, Ottersberg , 2004, ISBN 978-3-881-32309-3 .
• with Judith Bernhard: Our big apple cookbook. Recipes, stories and interesting facts . Bassermann Verlag, Munich, 2010, ISBN 978-3-809-48026-6 .
• with Judith Bernhard: Fruit, of course. Varieties, recipes and interesting facts from Northern Germany . Wachholtz Verlag , Neumünster , 2011, ISBN 978-3-529-05767-0 .
• Tastes good! Apple man news . KJM Buchverlag, Hamburg, 2015, ISBN 978-3-945-46509-7 .
• The old varieties. Apples, pears, cherries and plums. The BOOMGARDEN PARK. KJM Buchverlag, Hamburg, 2016, ISBN 978-3-945465-27-1 .
• The apple man's bee book. History & myth, tradition & current trends, attitude & tips, KJM Buchverlag, Hamburg, 2016, ISBN 978-3-96194-047-9 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Eckart Brandt in the catalog of the German National Library
• www.boomgarden.de - the official project Boomgarden

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Catarina Spethmann: Half-hour interview with Eckart Brandt ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Broadcasted on February 26th, 2016 on Northwest Radio . Retrieved from radiobremen.de/nordwestradio on February 28, 2016. 
2. ↑ Ilka Kreutzträger: The apple man . On October 6, 2013 in Die Tageszeitung . Retrieved from taz.de on February 28, 2016.
3. ↑ Hella Kemper: Interview with Eckart Brandt . In Die Zeit , August 19, 2004, № 35 / 2004. Retrieved from zeit.de on February 28, 2016.
4. ↑ Edgar S. Hasse: Noah's Ark of the apples . On October 11, 2008 on welt.de ( Die Welt ). Retrieved February 28, 2016.
5. ↑ Hartmut Netz: Eckart Brandt: The Lord of the Apples . Published in the member magazine of the Naturschutzbund Deutschland , № 3 / 2004. Retrieved from nabu.de on February 28, 2016.
6. ↑ Noah's Ark and Gen-Bank . Published on April 9, 2004 in the Altländer Tageblatt . Retrieved from wilkenshoff.de on February 28, 2016.
7. ↑ Dieter Sell: Treasure Chest on Königsmoor: Fight for the preservation of old apple varieties . On October 5th, 2014 on evangelisch.de ( joint work of Protestant journalism ). Retrieved February 28, 2016.